Monday, December 8, 2008

DON'T NEED STYLE POINTS

Don't laugh. I am writing this in my kitchen with a candle lit right next to the computer. I am hoping the setting...(Bride now at fitness center teaching a stability ball class) will help me hit the right keys and in the process make some sense..... Its dark, save for the glow of the laptop and the candle.....

Last week I made some strong strides with my weight training workouts....even got in two hard leg workouts and two very tough upper body workouts... I did however, impose a slight reduction of my running mileage. Chalk it up to a senior moment. I had a little discomfort on my left shin. Immediately I thought of shin splints...the bane of existence for many long distance folks. However, I seemed to recall wacking my left leg once about 10 days ago and so was hoping the pain was more relative to the bump. So....Mr. mid fifties dude made an executive decision. It was likely the forgotten bump that caused the situation...but...just to be safe....why not drop the mileage.???? Good compromise. So...I went from a week of 33 miles to a week of 16 and had no real long runs. I even mixed in two 30 minute segments on elliptical and stationary bikes too. I even had two treadmill workouts where I ran 8:09 miles for 3 miles.

Sunday was perfect. The Bride and I got both our Christmas trees. We get a 10 footer for our Great room and then a Charlie Brown tree for the front room. The orphaned tree must cause people who walk by to say..."Gheesh..that guy can't find a better tree than that piece of garbage"??? We always get our trees in Willoughby Hills and the folks are wonderful. The Greigs do alot of dog therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. One of their dogs had just 3 legs. They always brighten up the day of sick kids with their therapy dogs. Great ..great people. After we got the trees, we Christmas shopped and I had the rare day off from t.v. and so...did not have to watch the Browns play the Titans. Talk about an early Christmas present.!!!!

I started off this week by pledging to return to the 30's. My goal will be 30 even. This morning, I ran on the bridle paths and off the paths at North Chagrin. Snowy..quiet and quite nice. Pretty cold...but no big deal.

As I write this, the Steelers are on track to win another division. Pittsburgh is supposed to be the hated rival of Browns fans.. But I have to prop their coach Mike Tomlin for his comment after the Black and Gold came from behind to beat the Cowboys

"People get too pre-occupied with style points. That was a beautiful football game". I have to agree with what he wrote and perhaps it applies to other aspects of our lives. Julie Moss did not win style points for her finish in the Ironman in the early years...but all her crawling to the finish line did was...vault the sport into the public consciousness. Triathletes know the drill. Wanting to finish a long event and look good in the process..get reduced to "just get the damn thing done"I think what coach Tomlin was saying was "Hey we are not doing so well right now, but we will keep trying and we will find a way to get it done". Darned if they didn't do that.We go out and train. We are results oriented people. We know that buckets filled with our sweat will mean we can accomplish a very tough task. We know its more about substance than it is about style.

America is in a tough spot. We need to succeed at fixing our countries problems. I don't need the solution to be pretty or stylish....I just know its gonna come with good old fashioned hard work!!!

Thanks for setting a great example with your mile reduction. Some people need to hear it.

My friend told me a while back that the miles you miss now are far fewer than the miles you'll miss if you exacerbate an injury. And then I was reading a story last week in which an elite runner explained that at the first sign of injury or overuse, he scales way back.

Smart move on backing down the mileage and opting for some more strength training. The beauty of the Trail race is that you can just enjoy it for what it is...a wonderful run in the woods. There's nothing like it and you'll do fantastic!

Glad you backed off the mileage, JT! Way to be smart and listen to your body. Way better to be safe than sorry, that's for SURE.

Loved what you said about style vs. substance. It really isn't about what you look like when you're doing it, it's HOW you're doing it that matters. I heard that in yoga once too and thought "wow, that really applies to life so well..."

Love Charlie Brown trees too :) (and love that you got your tree from an animal pace). Substance over style, absolutely - my running ain't too pretty (actually, if race photos are any indicator, my running is straight ugly). Glad you listened to your body --- a few miles less now means you won't be taking off days/ weeks/ months for an injury down the road!

About Me

T.V. Sportscaster and 25 year veteran of triathlon racing. 3 time Ironman distance finisher. Ultra-marathoner. Father of 3, married 34 years to my college sweetheart, THE BRIDE, a Pilates and personal fitness instructor.

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J.T's Original Motivation Quotations !!!

"Nobody sees you, like you see you. Therefore....get over yourself""Live in the moment. A stone dropped in the ocean is just that..a stone....it won't mean a tsunami unless negative thoughts overtake you.""Its supply and demand. You supply the willpower and your muscles meet the demand""Want to find THE EDGE?? Train right up to it...then go over it.""In the race of life, the object isn't to complete the most laps (years). Its to enjoy each one"

"Tired muscles argue hard, but Iron Will has the last word.""The size of a mountain depends on your perception. A rolling hill can be Everest, if you let it".

"The Heart has GPS..the muscles have to stop and ask for directions. If your heart is not in it, you will miss your goal"- Triguyjt- Veteran triathlete